So what is Christmas Crack? It’s a super simple dessert that has a toffee layer on bottom covered in chocolate with optional toppings. Why is it named Christmas Crack? I’m guessing it’s because it is super addictive but I didn’t name it so don’t blame me.

To make it you will need;

1 cup of butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 sleeve of Saltine Crackers

1 bag of chocolate chips

assorted toppings such as pretzels or m&m’s

First preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Next line a sheet cake pan or jelly roll pan with foil that has been well oiled. You need a pan with sides so a cookie sheet won’t work the best.

Lay out the crackers in a single layer in the bottom of the pan.

I made a double batch so you should only have one pan, not two like I have layed out. It will take about 40 crackers (1 sleeve). I filled in the edges with broken crackers.

Next put the 1 cup of butter and 3/4 cup brown sugar into a pan and bring it to a boil. You need to stir it constantly until it is well blended and you can’t see the butter on the top anymore. Once it is blended let it boil for 5 minutes while stirring. Make sure you have the crackers done before this step is done.

When it is ready the toffee will pull away from the edge of the pan easily.

Now you need to pour the toffee over the top of the crackers and spread it out.

Straighten up any wayward crackers with a fork. Then immediately place this in the oven for 5-6 minutes. During this time you might want to wash the pan you used to make the toffee because once it sets up, it is really hard to get out of the pan.

After the 5-6 minutes pull out the crackers and let them cool for about 5 minutes.

This pan and the toffee will be extremely hot. Be careful not to let children touch it, or yourself if you are like me.

After it has cooled for 5 minutes sprinkle the top with the chocolate chips.

Slowly they will start to melt but if they don’t do it fast enough, just pop it back in the oven for a minute.

When they are soft spread the chocolate around with a spatula until it’s smooth across the top.

Now is a great time to add some more toppings if you wish. I added broken pretzels to mine but many people add nuts or candy to the top.

Let the pans set for 4-5 hours. If you don’t have that much time then just pop the entire pan in the freezer for 30-40 minutes.

When the chocolate is hard set turn the pan over and let the candy fall out. Now break into pieces and eat!

Yum!!

Yummy and easy… does it get any better? Oh yeah it does… you get to offer all your super conservative friends some crack.

Line a sheet cake pan or jelly roll pan with foil that has been well oiled. You need a pan with sides.

Lay out the crackers in a single layer in the bottom of the pan. Lay the crackers in the bottom of the pan in a single layer with little to no space between crackers. It will take about one sleeve of saltines.

Next put the 1 cup of butter and 3/4 cup brown sugar into a pan on the stove and bring it to a boil. You need to stir it constantly until it is well blended and you can’t see the butter on the top anymore. Once it is blended let it boil for 5 minutes while stirring. Make sure you have the crackers done before this step.

When it is ready the toffee will pull away from the edge of the pan easily.

Now you need to pour the toffee over the top of the crackers and spread it out.

Straighten up any wayward crackers with a fork. Then immediately place this in the oven for 5-6 minutes. After 5 minutes pull it out of the oven and spread the chocolate chips on top carefully, the mixture will be extremely hot.

As the chips melt smooth them with a spatula to make an even layer of chocolate.

Let this stand until cooled or you can pop it into the freezer to speed up the process.

You could simply cut and paste the recipe into a notepad document. (just the part you actually need in order to make it) It’s the best way I have found to trim down lengthy recipes. Hope that was helpful

I made this recipe last year from somewhere that I found it. Well, it has already been requested this year. It is so simple and is so addictive!! Makes me laugh to tell people the name of it, especially my friends from church.

I tried to do this…and my chocolate chips would not melt…not in the 400 degree oven after over 10 minutes! I was worried about burning the toffee/crackers so I gave up…but it was all wasted anyway, so I guess I should have just left it. I am going to try it again, but going to melt chocolate ahead of time. I have made/had this before, but couldn’t find my old recipe.

I’ve looked up the Crack recipe online several times – your version with pictures is wonderful and ACCURATE!

I don’t know if it was holiday sress or what, but I managed to mess up this recipe the first time I made it, using someone else’s recipe. I tried using milk choc chips and they wouldn’t melt. This time I used semi-sweet and it turned out perfectly. By the way, I top mine with chopped pecans. YUM!

Sometimes if you use off brand chocolate chips they do not melt very well. They are good for making chocolate cookies, but not when you are going for a smooth chocolate like this calls for. So, maybe try a different brand….they are a little more expensive, but less expensive than wasting a whole batch of candy!!

Sorry it did not work for you, and happy that you will give it another try.

Real chocolate chips will get soft enough to melt, but the chocolate chips still hold their shape. Use an offset spatula, to smooth them out and it will look just like the photo. Good luck on your next try.

I used toll house chocolate chips, semi-sweet and they would not melt. I put them back into the oven and they still did not melt Tried smoothing them with an offset spatula and they just didn’t do what they were suppose to? It still looks good though and we’ll still eat them, but wonder why they did not melt?

please re-think the name of this recipe. tree bark is much better than the one you have. too many teens struggle with addiction and we as christian need to be much more sensitive. needless to say our family has dealt with this issue. thank you.

I just made this with white chocolate chips and they didn’t melt very well. My suggestion would be to melt them first then spread on top of the cracker/toffy mixture. It is still tasty, just not as pretty.

You can also put them back in the oven again for a minute with the white chocolate chips and then spread it again. I’ve had to do that before with an expensive chocolate chip. The higher fat content, the faster they will melt.

I right-clicked this whole recipe and pasted into a Word document. All I did was click on each picture and made it much smaller, still viewable but didn’t take up as much space. I got the recipe down to two pages.

I haven’t tried this yet, but look forward to doing so! Using Wheat Thins sounds great too!

Can you send me this Christmas Crack recipe to my email. I take baked goodies to the Wounded Warriors her Gatesville Texas once a month. The would love these. I had some last night at a xmas function and it was great.

I am gonna try this. It sounds easy and good. My wife won.t let me in her kitchen but if I pull this off while she is at work I will be a hero. If I fail I will be dead. Merry Christmas from the Bishops.

First, let me say this recipe sounds like it will be fun to make and yummy. However, “you get to offer your conservative friends some crack”… Apparently, you don’t realize that even conservative people have senses of humor.

I resent your asking for my email’s password in order to have a recipe sent to my email address. Why should you have full access to my address book & all my people just to get a recipe?? No thanks. I will write it down

Has anyone tried it with peanutbutter?Sounds like there are several possible reasons for its name,maybe because its made with crackers,ha ha.Crack sounds more appetizing then tree bark.Just tell them this is legalized crack,…over the counter,ha ha,affordable,lol.So even if you lack in crack,have happy holidays to all.

Just wanted to say I use parchment paper instead of tinfoil to line the bottom & sides of the pan. Much easier because no need for any prep work. I do fold the paper crisply along the pan edges to help hold its shape. No spraying or buttering needed. The candy comes out fine without sticking. Easy! Also, I used Club Crackers when I didn’t have saltines – delicious. Bought Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips for a change too. YUM. You can really put your individual stamp on this recipe! Thanks for sharing.

This is a well loved recipe in my house. I have used saltines, Ritz, and Graham crackers. Make sure that you use real butter and not margarine. It won’t do correctly with margarine. You get an awful mess!!

I did a test and threw some in our deep freezer for a few hours then put the pieces out in the warm living room, they did not get soft or soggy. I found the pieces were still crunchy and tasted just fine.

What are the best chocolate chips to use? I’m trying this recipe now with candy making chocolate. I was afraid to use bakers chocolate chips that they wouldn’t melt because of the past comments I read.

I made this yesterday for my wife to take to work so she could share with the other nurses , they loved it .
Beth Sheeler This was the best ever baby..I about lost some fingers over this stuff lol..everyone at work LOVED it and they want more

Made ths yesterday with some kids I sit for. When I printed out the recipe I called it “crackle” just to simplify and not get their mother upset with me. But I take no offense to its original name and am also uber conservative. Some of you people need to lighten up. Enjoy the treat for what it tastes like and not for the name. Btw I also used HEB brand semi sweet chocolate chips and we topped with pretzels, M & M candies and crushed oreos ( 3 different trays). All three turned out fanatic. Thank you for this easy and yummy recipe.

If found this works best if you use a candy thermometer and get the temp to between soft ball and hard ball. Any less than that the toffee is gooey and not as the recipe intended. Also, no need to wait to place the chocolate chips on top. I’ve been making this for years and its always a big hit.

I followed the directions exactly, but after boiling and constantly stirring the sugar & butter mixture for just 2-3 minutes, it started to smell like it was burning and never did pull. Sure enough, the “toffee” in the final product was definitely burnt. Any suggestions?

I followed the directions exactly, but after boiling – and constantly stirring – the sugar & butter mixture for only 2-3 minutes, it smelled like it was burning. It never did set, and the “toffee” in the final product was definitely burned, Any suggestions?

Just wanted to say I use parchment paper instead of tinfoil to line the bottom & sides of the pan. Much easier because no need for any prep work. I do fold the paper crisply along the pan edges to help hold its shape. No spraying or buttering needed. The candy comes out fine without sticking. Easy! Also, I used Club Crackers when I didn’t have saltines – delicious. Bought Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips for a change too. YUM. You can really put your individual stamp on this recipe! Have to say this freezes very well! (At least for a few weeks since it usually gets eaten by then!)
To the Janet above whose toffee burned: try starting at a medium heat and then go to a medium high. If your heat is too high, it will burn. It’s hard to give an exact temp since I don’t use a candy thermometer, but it’s better to start lower and turn it up. Everyone’s stove is different, but I start at medium for a minute or two, then go to medium high. I never turn it up higher than that. It may take longer to get to a boiling temp at medium high, but be patient and keep stirring!

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